Tamil Nadu Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar left a function at the Madurai Medical College campus shortly after arriving on Sunday, reportedly expressing displeasure over the absence of invited MLAs and party functionaries.
The minister, along with Madurai North MLA Kallanai and Madurai South MLA Gopisan, had been invited as special guests to a book release programme organised as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of the Madurai Government Laboratory Technicians Association.
Although the event was scheduled to begin at 10 am, Nirmal Kumar arrived at the venue around 9.50 am. He was received by the organisers with a bouquet, entered the auditorium, greeted those present and took his seat on the stage.
However, the invited MLAs had not yet arrived. According to the organisers, the minister was informed that the legislators and other dignitaries were expected to reach the venue shortly. Despite the assurance, Nirmal Kumar stepped down from the stage and left the programme, leaving the organisers surprised.
Sources said the minister was upset over the absence of the MLAs and party workers, who generally accompany ministers at public events. Apart from a few people who arrived with him, no party functionaries were present at the venue.
The minister's office, however, maintained that he left the event because he had to travel to Chennai to attend another official programme. Political circles, however, believe his departure reflected dissatisfaction over the poor attendance of party representatives.
Just two days earlier, Nirmal Kumar, along with Minister P. Moorthy Viswanathan and MLAs Kallanai, S.R. Thanga Pandian, Gopisan, Karthikeyan, Madar Badrudeen and others, had participated in a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee meeting held at the Madurai District Collectorate.
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